Modern electronic equipment, such as servers, perform self-diagnostic routines and generate event flags when something is wrong. Events may include over-heating, data errors above a threshold, data delays, etc. Such events are then communicated to a computer, typically directly connected to the equipment, and the computer screen displays the event message. A technician in a service department then views the event message and takes the appropriate steps to resolve the event. One possible step is for the technician to post the event in the company's network, on-line, or in an email so the proper personnel or group can help resolve the event.
Various people may receive the thread of the related posts between the technical personnel, and some of the people may not be relevant to the problem to be resolved. As a result of unnecessary people being involved in the issue, or the omission of people that should be involved in the issue, efficiency is lowered and response time may be extended.
In a service environment, response time and efficiency are critical to maintain agreed upon service levels.
What would be desirable is a communication system for detecting events automatically generated by equipment, such as events identifying a problem to be solved, and controlling access to the information generated during the resolution of the event so only the proper personnel can be involved in resolving the problem.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2013/0061156, assigned to Salesforce.com, describes a social network system directed to sales people that includes filters for determining who is authorized to participate in or receive threads (related to sales issues), but such threads are initiated by human users who specify the desired filters. Such a system is not appropriate for resolving events totally initiated by equipment.